Relationship-apparent application artifact registration

ABSTRACT

Relationship-apparent application artifact registration is performed by attaching, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each of the one or more artifact service specifications, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each represented artifact, and attaching, to each of the one or more artifact service specifications, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address.

BACKGROUND

During the life cycle of an application provided as a service, multiple modules are individually utilized to deploy the application, maintain the application, update the application, provided user access to the application, manage licenses of the application, terminate the application, etc. Because not all applications are universally compatible, each module utilizes a related application to perform the respective task. An orchestrator is usable to manage the modules by providing information about the application and related applications.

Applications are able to be deployed from a bundle that includes both the application, the related applications for use by the modules, and any other information used for deployment. Certain service modules, such as a service order management module, request bundle service specifications for deployment, and cause deployment sequences for the bundle to be executed, each by another specific service module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operational flow for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operational flow for creating artifact service specifications, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operational flow for creating service specification attachments, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operational flow for processing an access request, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a further operational flow for receiving a bundle service specification, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary hardware configuration for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components, values, operations, materials, arrangements, or the like, are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Other components, values, operations, materials, arrangements, or the like, are contemplated. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

When an application bundle originates from outside the orchestrator environment, the modules access the bundle through the orchestrator. Although an individual module only utilizes one related application in some instances, the original storage for the bundle only provides the bundle in isolation without enabling selection of individual related applications. To compensate, the whole bundle is retrieved and extracted.

Service modules within an orchestrator access the bundle package and/or bundle contents, such as artifacts, specific to that service module. When deploying a bundle, the service module executing deployment retrieves all artifact service specifications to determine the specific service module to invoke for each artifact. However, retrieving and parsing all artifact service specifications is sometimes computationally intensive for both the service module executing deployment and the orchestrator. In at least some embodiments, a specific service module requires the full bundle in addition to the artifact(s) causing the specific service module's invocation.

In at least some embodiments, relevant information of artifact service specifications of bundled artifacts appear in the corresponding bundle service specification. Likewise, relevant information of the bundle service specification appears in the corresponding artifact service specifications of bundled artifacts.

In at least some embodiments, the reference to lower levels, e.g.—a bundle service specification referencing artifact service specifications, enables certain service modules, such as a service order management module to read artifact types, and invoke different modules based on artifact type, providing each invoked service module with the identifier of the artifact of that type. For service specifications without reference to lower levels, a service order management module would request and all related service specifications from an orchestrator, requiring the orchestrator to scan all service specifications (and attachments) in object storage to return results with the same identifier, and then parse all related service specifications and corresponding attachments.

In at least some embodiments, reference to upper levels, e.g.—an artifact service specification referencing a bundle service specification, enables certain service modules, such as a life cycle management module, to read information to access the parent bundle specification specifically, which is useful, for example, when something goes wrong in executing a deployment sequence for the artifact.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The diagram includes an apparatus 100, a service builder 110, an original address 112, an object storage 114, a service specification database 190, a relationship database 194, and a service module 118.

Service builder 110 is configured to transmit a bundle service specification 111 to apparatus 100. In at least some embodiments, bundle service specification 111 includes an original address to an original storage 112 of a bundle 113. In at least some embodiments, the original address is a link or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to bundle 113 stored on original storage 112. In at least some embodiments, bundle 113 includes one or more applications to be provided as a service. In at least some embodiments, bundle 113 includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) application and one or more related applications configured to facilitate deployment, maintenance, monitoring, configuration access, monitoring, termination, etc., of the application. In at least some embodiments, service builder 110 is configured to transmit the bundle service specification along with a request for registration of bundle 113 in a software service catalog. In at least some embodiments, service builder 110 is configured to submit the request for registration through an Application Programming Interface (API) of apparatus 100.

Apparatus 100 is configured to perform relationship-apparent application artifact registration. Apparatus 100 is configured to receive bundle service specification 111 from service builder 110. In least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to retrieve bundle 113 from original storage 112 in response to receiving a request for registration of bundle 113 is a software service catalog. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to transfer bundle 113 from original storage 112 to object storage 114. In at least some embodiments, object storage 114 is within the same secure area as apparatus 100, which is likely to provide apparatus 100 quicker and more efficient access to object storage 114 than original storage 112. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to extract a plurality of artifacts from bundle 112, and to store those artifacts in object storage 114. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to create service specifications and attachments thereof for bundle 112 and the extracted artifacts. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to store service specifications 117, which includes service specifications created by apparatus 100 and service specifications including attachments created by apparatus 100, in service specification database 190. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to store relationships, including relationship details between a bundle and the plurality of artifacts from the bundle, such as relationship details 116, in relationship database 194.

Apparatus 100 is configured to receive an access request 119 from service module 118. In at least some embodiments, service module 118 is one of a service order module, an Onboarding Funnel (OBF) module, a maintenance module, an updating module, a configuration access module, a monitoring module, a license management module, a termination module, or any other module configured to access applications orchestrated by apparatus 100. In at least some embodiments, service module 118 is a program that is executed by apparatus 100. In at least some embodiments, service module 118 is configured to transmit access request 119 through the API of apparatus 100. In at least some embodiments, access request 119 includes an identifier of an application. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 100 is configured to provide service module 118, in response to receiving access request 119, a service specification of the identified application.

FIG. 2 is an operational flow for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The operational flow provides a method of relationship-apparent application artifact registration. In at least some embodiments, the method is performed by a controller of an apparatus including sections for performing certain operations, such as the controller and apparatus shown in FIG. 6 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S220, a registering section or a sub-section thereof receives a bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the registering section receives a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment. In at least some embodiments, the receiving the bundle includes receiving a request for registration of the bundle in a software service catalog. In at least some embodiments, the registering section receives the bundle service specification through an API, such as the TM Forum (TMF) 633 API standard. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification includes fields of “id”, “name”, “href”, “version”, “description”, “lifecycleStatus”, “type”, “baseType”, etc. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification includes an attachment with fields of “id”, “name”, “url”, “description”, “attachmentType”, etc. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification reception proceeds as shown in FIG. 5 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S230, the registering section or a sub-section thereof, transfers a bundle corresponding to the bundle service specification received at S220 to an object storage. In at least some embodiments, the registering section transfers the bundle from an original address indicated in the bundle service specification to an object storage at a principal address. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification indicates the original address of the bundle in an original storage. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification includes an attachment indicating the original address. In at least some embodiments, the registering section retrieves the bundle from the original storage, and then transmits the bundle to object storage. In at least some embodiments, the registering section downloads the bundle from an artifactory URL provided in the bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the registering section uploads the bundle to a new bucket in the object storage.

At S232, the registering section or a sub-section thereof extracts one or more artifacts from the bundle. In at least some embodiments, the registering section extracts a plurality of artifacts from the bundle, each of the plurality of artifacts being stored in the object storage at a subordinate address. In at least some embodiments, the registering section stores the extracted artifacts in a subordinate address structured as “{catalog endpoint}/{bucket name}/{directory of artifact}”, where “{catalog endpoint}” refers to the general address of the object storage, “{bucket name}” refers to the principal address of the bundle, and “{directory of artifact}” refers to the subordinate address of the artifact. In at least some embodiments, the extracting includes maintaining an artifact hierarchy of the bundle in the object storage. In at least some embodiments, the registering section causes the object storage to extract the artifacts from the bundle. In at least some embodiments, the registering section extracts the artifacts from the bundle, and then transfers the artifacts to the object storage. In at least some embodiments, the bundle has a TAR or TAR.GZ extension.

At S240, the creating section or a sub-section thereof creates an artifact service specification for an artifact extracted from the bundle. As iterations of the creating at S240 proceed, the creating section creates one or more artifact service specifications, each artifact service specification representing one or more of the plurality of artifacts, each service specification representing the corresponding subordinate address, an artifact identifier, and an artifact type of each represented artifact. In at least some embodiments, the creating section identifies the artifact type based on a predetermined mapper function. In at least some embodiments in which the artifact hierarchy of the bundle is maintained in the object storage, the creating section identifies the artifact type based on the artifact hierarchy of the bundle. In at least some embodiments, the creating section links the artifact service specification to the bundle service specification using a “servicespecRelationship” field that indicates the bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the artifact service specification creation proceeds as shown in FIG. 3 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S234, the registering section or a sub-section thereof determines whether all of the artifacts extracted from the bundle have been processed for artifact service specification creation. If the registering section determines that unprocessed artifacts remain, then the operational flow proceeds to S236, where the next artifact is selected for processing before returning to artifact service specification creation at S240. If the registering section determines that artifacts have been processed, then the operational flow proceeds to service specification attaching at S250.

At S250, a creating section or a sub-section thereof attaches further information to each service specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section attaches further information based on whether the service specification is for a bundle or an artifact. In at least some embodiments, the attachment creation proceeds as shown in FIG. 4 , which will be explained hereinafter.

FIG. 3 is an operational flow for creating artifact service specifications, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The operational flow provides a method of creating artifact service specifications, such as the operation at S240 in FIG. 2 . In at least some embodiments, the method is performed by a creating section of an apparatus, such as the creating section shown in FIG. 6 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S342, the creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether an artifact is a deployment artifact. In at least some embodiments, a deployment artifact is an artifact that includes instructions for deployment of an application, such as a robin bundle or a helm chart. If the creating section determines that the artifact is a deployment artifact, then the operational flow proceeds to deployment artifact service specification creation at S343. If the creating section determines that the artifact is not a deployment artifact, then the operational flow proceeds to S345 without creating a deployment artifact service specification.

At S343, the creating section or a sub-section thereof creates a deployment artifact service specification for the artifact. In at least some embodiments, as iterations of the operational flow proceed, the creating section creates a deployment artifact service specification for each deployment artifact among the plurality of artifacts. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates a related party attachment and a service specification characteristic attachment, and attaches the related party attachment and the service specification characteristic attachment to the deployment artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section populates the deployment artifact service specification with fields of “id”, “name”, “version”, “lifecycleStatus”, “type”, “baseType”, etc. In at least some embodiments, the creating section copies the “relatedParty” attachment and the “ServiceSpecCharacteristic” attachment to the deployment artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates an attachment to the deployment artifact service specification with fields of “id”, “name”, “url”, “baseType”, “type”, “referredType”, etc.

At S345, the creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether an artifact is related to a deployment artifact. In at least some embodiments, an artifact related to a deployment artifact is an artifact that includes an application itself or executable code for compiling an application. If the creating section determines that the artifact is related to a deployment artifact, then the operational flow proceeds to attachment creation at S346. If the creating section determines that the artifact is not related to a deployment artifact, then the operational flow proceeds to S348 without creating an attachment.

At S346, the creating section or a sub-section thereof attaches the artifact name and subordinate address to a deployment artifact service specification of the related deployment artifact. In at least some embodiments, as iterations of the operational flow proceed, the creating section attaches, to the deployment artifact service specification, an artifact name and subordinate address of at least one related artifact among the plurality of artifacts. In at least some embodiments, the creating section populates the attachment to the deployment artifact service specification with fields of “id”, “name”, “url”, “baseType”, “type”, “referredType”, etc.

At S348, the creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether an artifact is an artifact other than a deployment artifact or an artifact related to a deployment artifact. If the creating section determines that the artifact is an artifact other than a deployment artifact or an artifact related to a deployment artifact, then the operational flow proceeds to individual artifact service specification creation at S349. In at least some embodiments, as iterations of the operational flow proceed, remaining artifacts among the plurality of artifacts are represented by individual artifact service specifications among the one or more artifact service specifications. If the creating section determines that the artifact is not an artifact other than a deployment artifact or an artifact related to a deployment artifact, then the operational flow ends without creating an individual artifact service specification.

At S349, the creating section or a sub-section thereof creates an individual artifact service specification for the artifact. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates an individual artifact service specification similar to a deployment artifact service specification, but without as many attachments. In at least some embodiments, the creating section populates the individual artifact service specification with fields of “id”, “name”, “version”, “lifecycleStatus”, “type”, “baseType”, etc. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates an attachment to the individual artifact service specification with fields of “id”, “name”, “url”, “baseType”, “type”, “referredType”, etc.

FIG. 4 is an operational flow for creating service specification attachments, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The operational flow provides a method of creating service specification attachments. In at least some embodiments, the method is performed by a creating section of an apparatus, such as the creating section shown in FIG. 6 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S452, a creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether the service specification is an artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates different types of attachments for each specification. If the creating section determines that the service specification is an artifact service specification, then the operational flow proceeds to bundle relationship specification attaching at S453. If the creating section determines that the service specification is not an artifact service specification, then the operational flow proceeds to bundle service specification determining at S455.

At S453, the creating section or a sub-section thereof attaches, to the artifact service specification, a bundle relationship specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section attaches an identifier of the bundle and an address of the bundle in the object storage to the artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, as the operational flow for creating service specification attachments is repeated, the creating section attaches, to each artifact service specification, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address. In at least some embodiments, the bundle relationship specification further represents a supplier role. In at least some embodiments, the creating section populates the bundle relationship specification with fields of “Id”, “Name”, “Role”, “RelationshipType”, etc.

At S455, a creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether the service specification is a bundle service specification. If the creating section determines that the service specification is a bundle service specification, then the operational flow proceeds to identifier and address attaching at S456. If the creating section determines that the service specification is not a bundle service specification, then the operational flow ends.

At S456, a creating section or a sub-section thereof attaches, to the bundle service specification, an identifier and an address of the bundle in the object storage. In at least some embodiments, the creating section attaches, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier and the principal address. In at least some embodiments, the creating section creates an attachment similar to an attachment to the bundle service specification received with the bundle service specification, except for replacing the address of the bundle in the original storage with the address of the bundle in the object storage.

At S457, a creating section or a sub-section thereof attaches, to the bundle service specification, an artifact relationship specification. In at least some embodiments, the creating section attaches an identifier of the artifact, an address of the artifact in the object storage, and a type of the artifact to the artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, as the operational flow for creating service specification attachments proceeds, the creating section attaches, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each artifact service specification, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each artifact represented in the artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments, each artifact relationship specification further represents a dependent role. In at least some embodiments, the creating section populates the artifact relationship specification with fields of “Id”, “Name”, “Role”, “RelationshipType”, etc.

At S458, the creating section or a sub-section thereof determines whether all of the artifact service specifications have been processed for attaching relationship specifications. If the creating section determines that unprocessed artifact service specifications remain, then the operational flow proceeds to S459, where the next artifact service specification is selected for processing before returning to artifact relationship specification attaching at S457. If the registering section determines that all artifact service specifications have been processed, then the operational flow ends.

In at least some embodiments, all relationships for which a relationship specification is created are stored in a service specification relationship data table. In at least some embodiments, each entry in the service specification relationship data table includes fields of “servicespecificationrole”, “relationshiptype”, “targetservicespecificationrole”, etc.

FIG. 5 is an operational flow for processing an access request, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The operational flow provides a method of processing an access request. In at least some embodiments, the method is performed by an accessing section of an apparatus, such as the accessing section shown in FIG. 6 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S560, the accessing section or a sub-section thereof receives a request for access to a service specification. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section receives the access request from a service module through an API, such as the TMF 633 API standard. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section receives an access request from a service module, the access request including a service specification identifier. In at least some embodiments, the access request includes an identifier of the service specification. In at least some embodiments, the access request is part of a request to deploy a cloud-based service provided by one or more applications of a bundle.

At S562, the accessing section or a sub-section thereof identifies the service specification. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section identifies a service specification from a database of service specifications by using the identifier in the access request.

At S564, the accessing section or a sub-section thereof determines whether related service specifications are also requested in the access request received at S560. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section determines whether the access request applies to related service specifications. If the accessing section determines that related service specifications are also requested, then the operational flow proceeds to related service specification identification at S566. If the accessing section determines that related service specifications are not requested, then the operational flow proceeds to service specification transmission at S568.

At S566, the accessing section or a sub-section thereof identifies service specifications of any artifacts and bundles related to the service specification identified at S562. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section identifies one or more artifact service specifications or bundle service specifications from the database of service specifications by reading a relationship specification attached to the service specification identified at S562. In at least some embodiments where the relationship specification is not attached to the service specification, the accessing section reads all service specifications to identify service specifications including the identifier in the request, which utilizes more computational resources than where a relationship specification is attached to the service specification, in some instances. In at least some embodiments, the related service specifications are represented as a supplier role or a dependent role.

At S568, the accessing section transmits the service specifications identified at S562 and S566 to the service module. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section transmits, to the service module, the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section transmits, to the service module in response to determining that the access request applies to related service specifications, one or more service specifications related to the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier. In at least some embodiments, each service specification transmitted to the service module includes a principal address to the corresponding bundle or a subordinate address to the corresponding artifact, which enables the service module to access the bundle or artifact directly. In at least some embodiments, the accessing section transmits artifact service specifications to service modules other than the requesting service module along with along with instructions or commands corresponding to the respective service module and artifact service specification. In at least some embodiments in which the access request is part of a request from a service order module to deploy a cloud-based service provided by one or more applications in the bundle of the bundle service specification, the accessing section transmits artifact service specifications to corresponding service modules along with instructions or commands to deploy the cloud-based service according to a Day 0 configuration.

In at least some embodiments, the ability of service modules to access specific artifacts within a bundle stems from the extracting and separate service specification creating performed by the apparatus. In other words, without extracting and creating separate service specifications for the artifacts within a bundle, service modules would retrieve entire bundles and parse the bundle for the artifact of interest before proceeding with the task. In at least some embodiments, the extracting and separate service specification creating lead to reduced use of computational and network resources in accessing artifacts of interest. In at least some embodiments, the extraction process is performed only once, and only artifacts of interest are transmitted across the network. In at least some embodiments, the computational resources required to create the artifact service specifications are outweighed by the reduction in computational resources required for multiple extraction operations performed by individual service modules.

In at least some embodiments, certain service modules, such as a service order management module, request bundle service specifications for deployment. In at least some embodiments, deployment involves causing deployment sequences for many artifacts within the bundle to be executed, each by another service module specific to the particular artifact type. In at least some embodiments, the service module parses the bundle service specification for information on the artifact type. In at least some embodiments, the relationship specification attached to the bundle service specification provides the relevant information to enable the service module to instruct the service module specific to that particular artifact type. In other words, the presence of the relationship specification attached to the bundle service specification relieves the service module from the necessity of retrieving and parsing artifact service specifications in addition to the bundle service specification, which reduces computational resource consumption. In at least some embodiments, service modules have the option of requesting related service specifications, as demonstrated by the operations at S564 and S566.

FIG. 6 is a further operational flow for receiving a bundle service specification, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. The operational flow provides a method of receiving a bundle service specification, such as the operation at S220 in FIG. 2 . In at least some embodiments, the method is performed by a registering section of an apparatus, such as the registering section shown in FIG. 6 , which will be explained hereinafter.

At S622, the registering section or a sub-section thereof determines whether the bundle service specification has a unique identifier. In at least some embodiments, the registering section determines whether an “identifier” field in the bundle service specification is identical to an existing service specification in a service specification database. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification has a unique identifier, then the operational flow proceeds to S624. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification does not have a unique identifier, then the operational flow proceeds to S629, at which the bundle service specification is rejected. In at least some embodiments, if the registering section determines that the bundle service specification does not have a unique identifier, then the registering section generates a new identifier, such as an identifier in the Universally Unique Identifier Version 4 (UUID4) format.

At S624, the registering section or a sub-section thereof determines whether the bundle service specification has a unique name and version. In at least some embodiments, the registering section determines whether a “name” field and a “version” field in the bundle service specification are both identical to a single existing service specification in the service specification database. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification has a unique name and version, then the operational flow proceeds to S626. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification does not have a unique name and version, then the operational flow proceeds to S629, at which the bundle service specification is rejected.

At S626, the registering section or a sub-section thereof determines whether the bundle service specification has valid relationship details. In at least some embodiments, the registering section determines whether a “name” field and a “role” field in a relationship attachment of the bundle service specification are pre-registered in the service specification database. In at least some embodiments, the bundle service specification includes a “relatedParty” attachment with fields of “id”, “name”, “role”, “baseType”, “type”, etc. In at least some embodiments, the registering section determines whether a bidirectional relationship exists. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification has valid relationship details, then the operational flow proceeds to timestamp recording at S628. If the registering section determines that the bundle service specification does not have valid relationship details, then the operational flow proceeds to S629, at which the bundle service specification is rejected.

At S628, the registering section or a sub-section thereof records a timestamp on the bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the registering section records the timestamp in a “createdOn” field of the bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the registering section adds the bundle service specification to the service specification database. In at least some embodiments, the registering section makes further verifications of the information in the bundle service specification before proceeding to S628.

At S629, the registering section or a sub-section thereof rejects the bundle service specification. In at least some embodiments, the registering section transmits a message to a service builder requesting registration of the bundle corresponding to the bundle service specification indicating that the bundle service specification is rejected, and providing a reason for rejection.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary hardware configuration for relationship-apparent application artifact registration, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention.

The exemplary hardware configuration includes apparatus 700, which communicates with network 709, and interacts with input device 707. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 700 is a computer or other computing device that receives input or commands from input device 707. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 700 is a host server that connects directly to input device 707, or indirectly through network 709. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 700 is a computer system that includes two or more computers. In at least some embodiments, apparatus 700 is a personal computer that executes an application for a user of apparatus 700.

Apparatus 700 includes a controller 702, a storage unit 704, a communication interface 708, and an input/output interface 706. In at least some embodiments, controller 702 includes a processor or programmable circuitry executing instructions to cause the processor or programmable circuitry to perform operations according to the instructions. In at least some embodiments, controller 702 includes analog or digital programmable circuitry, or any combination thereof. In at least some embodiments, controller 702 includes physically separated storage or circuitry that interacts through communication. In at least some embodiments, storage unit 704 includes a non-volatile computer-readable medium capable of storing executable and non-executable data for access by controller 702 during execution of the instructions. Communication interface 708 transmits and receives data from network 709. Input/output interface 706 connects to various input and output units, such as input device 707, via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, a monitor port, and the like to accept commands and present information.

Controller 702 includes registering section 780, creating section 782, which includes mapper function 783, and accessing section 784. Storage unit 704 includes service specification database 790, mapper function 792, and relationship database 794.

Registering section 780 is the circuitry or instructions of controller 702 configured to receive bundle service specifications. In at least some embodiments, registering section 780 is configured to receive a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment as part of a request for registration of the bundle in a software service catalog. In at least some embodiments, registering section 780 records information to storage unit 704, such as in service specification database 790, and utilize information in storage unit 704, such as in relationship details 794. In at least some embodiments, registering section 780 includes sub-sections for performing additional functions, as described in the foregoing flow charts. In at least some embodiments, such sub-sections is referred to by a name associated with a corresponding function.

Creating section 782 is the circuitry or instructions of controller 702 configured to create service specifications. In at least some embodiments, creating section 782 is configured to create artifact service specifications for artifacts extracted from bundles. In at least some embodiments, creating section 782 is configured to create attachments for bundle service specifications and artifact service specifications, such as relationship specifications. In at least some embodiments, creating section 782 utilizes mapper function 783 as well as information in storage unit 704, such as service specification database 790, and records information in storage unit 704, such as in relationship database 794. In at least some embodiments, creating section 782 includes sub-sections for performing additional functions, as described in the foregoing flow charts. In at least some embodiments, such sub-sections is referred to by a name associated with a corresponding function.

Accessing section 784 is the circuitry or instructions of controller 702 configured to respond to access requests from service modules. In at least some embodiments, accessing section 784 is configured to receive requests for access to service specifications, and to transmit service specifications to the requesting service module. In at least some embodiments, accessing section 784 retrieves information from storage unit 704, such as in service specification database 790. In at least some embodiments, accessing section 784 includes sub-sections for performing additional functions, as described in the foregoing flow charts. In at least some embodiments, such sub-sections is referred to by a name associated with a corresponding function.

In at least some embodiments, the apparatus is another device capable of processing logical functions in order to perform the operations herein. In at least some embodiments, the controller and the storage unit need not be entirely separate devices, but share circuitry or one or more computer-readable mediums in some embodiments. In at least some embodiments, the storage unit includes a hard drive storing both the computer-executable instructions and the data accessed by the controller, and the controller includes a combination of a central processing unit (CPU) and RAM, in which the computer-executable instructions are able to be copied in whole or in part for execution by the CPU during performance of the operations herein.

In at least some embodiments where the apparatus is a computer, a program that is installed in the computer is capable of causing the computer to function as or perform operations associated with apparatuses of the embodiments described herein. In at least some embodiments, such a program is executable by a processor to cause the computer to perform certain operations associated with some or all of the blocks of flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

Various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams whose blocks represent (1) steps of processes in which operations are performed or (2) sections of a controller responsible for performing operations. Certain steps and sections are implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on computer-readable media, and/or processors supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on computer-readable media. In some embodiments, dedicated circuitry includes digital and/or analog hardware circuits and include integrated circuits (IC) and/or discrete circuits. In some embodiments, programmable circuitry includes reconfigurable hardware circuits comprising logical AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements, etc., such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic arrays (PLA), etc.

Various embodiments of the present invention include a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. In some embodiments, the computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the computer readable storage medium includes a tangible device that is able to retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. In some embodiments, the computer readable storage medium includes, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

In some embodiments, computer readable program instructions described herein are downloadable to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. In some embodiments, the network includes copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.

In some embodiments, computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations described above are assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. In some embodiments, the computer readable program instructions are executed entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In some embodiments, in the latter scenario, the remote computer is connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection is made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to individualize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described, the technical scope of any subject matter claimed is not limited to the above described embodiments. Persons skilled in the art would understand that various alterations and improvements are able to be added to the above-described embodiments. Persons skill in the art would also understand from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such alterations or improvements are included in the technical scope of the invention.

The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performed by an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams are able to be performed in any order as long as the order is not indicated by “prior to,” “before,” or the like and as long as the output from a previous process is not used in a later process. Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as “first” or “next” in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams, this designation does not necessarily mean that the processes must be performed in this order.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, relationship-apparent application artifact registration is performed by receiving a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment, transferring a bundle from an original address indicated in the bundle service specification to an object storage at a principal address, extracting a plurality of artifacts from the bundle, each of the plurality of artifacts being stored in the object storage at a corresponding subordinate address, creating one or more artifact service specifications, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing one or more of the plurality of artifacts, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing the corresponding subordinate address, an artifact identifier, and an artifact type of each represented artifact, attaching, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each of the one or more artifact service specifications, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each represented artifact, and attaching, to each of the one or more artifact service specifications, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address.

Some embodiments include the instructions in a computer program, the method performed by the processor executing the instructions of the computer program, and an apparatus that performs the method. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a controller including circuitry configured to perform the operations in the instructions.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-readable medium including instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform operations comprising: receiving a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment; transferring a bundle from an original address indicated in the bundle service specification to an object storage at a principal address; extracting a plurality of artifacts from the bundle, each of the plurality of artifacts being stored in the object storage at a corresponding subordinate address; creating one or more artifact service specifications, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing one or more of the plurality of artifacts, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing the corresponding subordinate address, an artifact identifier, and an artifact type of each represented artifact; attaching, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each of the one or more artifact service specifications, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each represented artifact; and attaching, to each of the one or more artifact service specifications, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address.
 2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the bundle relationship specification further represents a supplier role; and each artifact relationship specification further represents a dependent role.
 3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the creating the one or more artifact service specifications includes: creating a deployment artifact service specification for each deployment artifact among the plurality of artifacts; and attaching, to the deployment artifact service specification, an artifact name and subordinate address of at least one related artifact among the plurality of artifacts; wherein remaining artifacts among the plurality of artifacts are represented by individual artifact service specifications among the one or more artifact service specifications.
 4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to perform identifying the artifact type based on a predetermined mapper function.
 5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to perform: receiving an access request from a service module, the access request including a service specification identifier; and transmitting, to the service module, the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier.
 6. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to perform: determining whether the access request applies to related service specifications; and transmitting, to the service module in response to determining that the access request applies to related service specifications, one or more service specifications related to the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier.
 7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the extracting includes maintaining an artifact hierarchy of the bundle in the object storage.
 8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to perform identifying the artifact type based on the artifact hierarchy of the bundle.
 9. A method comprising: receiving a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment; transferring a bundle from an original address indicated in the bundle service specification to an object storage at a principal address; extracting a plurality of artifacts from the bundle, each of the plurality of artifacts being stored in the object storage at a corresponding subordinate address; creating one or more artifact service specifications, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing one or more of the plurality of artifacts, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing the corresponding subordinate address, an artifact identifier, and an artifact type of each represented artifact; attaching, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each of the one or more artifact service specifications, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each represented artifact; and attaching, to each of the one or more artifact service specifications, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the bundle relationship specification further represents a supplier role; and each artifact relationship specification further represents a dependent role.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the creating the one or more artifact service specifications includes creating a deployment artifact service specification for each deployment artifact among the plurality of artifacts; and attaching, to the deployment artifact service specification, an artifact name and subordinate address of at least one related artifact among the plurality of artifacts; wherein remaining artifacts among the plurality of artifacts are represented by individual artifact service specifications among the one or more artifact service specifications.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying the artifact type based on a predetermined mapper function.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving an access request from a service module, the access request including a service specification identifier; and transmitting, to the service module, the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining whether the access request applies to related service specifications; and transmitting, to the service module in response to determining that the access request applies to related service specifications, one or more service specifications related to the service specification corresponding to the service specification identifier.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the extracting includes maintaining an artifact hierarchy of the bundle in the object storage.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising identifying the artifact type based on the artifact hierarchy of the bundle.
 17. An apparatus comprising: a controller including circuitry configured to receive a bundle service specification configured for deployment of a software service in a cloud native environment; transfer a bundle from an original address indicated in the bundle service specification to an object storage at a principal address; extract a plurality of artifacts from the bundle, each of the plurality of artifacts being stored in the object storage at a corresponding subordinate address; create one or more artifact service specifications, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing one or more of the plurality of artifacts, each of the one or more artifact service specifications representing the corresponding subordinate address, an artifact identifier, and an artifact type of each represented artifact; attach, to the bundle service specification, a bundle identifier, the principal address, and an artifact relationship specification, the artifact relationship specification representing, for each of the one or more artifact service specifications, the subordinate address, the artifact identifier, and the artifact type of each represented artifact; and attach, to each of the one or more artifact service specifications, a bundle relationship specification, the bundle relationship specification representing the bundle identifier and the principal address.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the bundle relationship specification further represents a supplier role; and each artifact relationship specification further represents a dependent role.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the creating the one or more artifact service specifications includes creating a deployment artifact service specification for each deployment artifact among the plurality of artifacts; and attaching, to the deployment artifact service specification, an artifact name and subordinate address of at least one related artifact among the plurality of artifacts; wherein remaining artifacts among the plurality of artifacts are represented by individual artifact service specifications among the one or more artifact service specifications.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to identify the artifact type based on a predetermined mapper function. 